Help needed with invite envelopes & RSVP deadline

KGold80

Hi! I've been lurking here for awhile, but this is my first post. Please be gentle.

I'm hoping to print addresses directly on my envelopes and go over them with a black calligraphy pen. However, I'll be damned if I can get the envelopes to go through the printer properly! Sooooo frustrating! Anyone else have this problem? Any tips? These are the envelopes I'm using: http://www.paperandmore.com/product/400/a7-lavender-metallic-square-flap-envelopes

Also, my wedding is June 21st and the final count is due to the hotel 5 days prior to the event, but I'd prefer to get it to her 7 days before just to have it done! That said, I'm thinking of setting the RSVP deadline for June 6th to give me a week or so to track down any stragglers. Does that sound about right? Invitations will go out either the week of April 19th or April 26th - hopefully the 19th.

Thanks in advance!

Krystal

KatWAG

I would sent your invites out the week of April 28th and have your RSVP deadline be June 11, that way you have 5 days to call people.

I dont have any printing tips. Sorry!

KGold80

Hah, apparently I was looking at the May calendar...the April Mondays in question would indeed be the 21st and 28th. The week of the 28th is actually better because my kiddos won't be home so if I need to finish assembly I can do so in peace. Thanks for your response!

sheslikeasunburn

21st or 28th is fine for sending them.  i would make your rsvp date june 7th or 8th so that you have a few days for the stragglers who mailed on the rsvp date to come in before you start calling people.  as a general rule you should give yourself at least one week between your venue's deadline and your rsvp deadline.

tammym1001

I printed on my envelopes. I just made sure I had the envelope all the way down in the chute (I don't really know what else to call it) and then I adjusted the size tabs so that they were up against the sides of the envelopes. It worked perfectly, but I did have to load the envelopes one at a time.

whitjoy

@KGold80 http://www.lcipaper.com/kb/ This website/blog thing has a post about printing on envelopes, I used their directions.

aRachel21

Just a tip: I cut paper the size of my envelopes and practiced with that so I didn't have to waste my actual envelopes. 

Hopefully your printer is the kind that feeds the paper from the top, instead of pulling it through the bottom (I hope that makes sense) because it's a lot easier that way. 

KGold80

@whitjoy - thank you for that link. I think that will help!

@aRachel21 - DUH! I totally didn't even think about cutting paper to size so I could practice. I was just wondering how many envelopes I would waste trying to get them to feed properly! You just saved me a lot of hassle! Granted, I have 60 envelopes and only 42 invitations going out (yay for lots of married people on the guest list!), so at least my margin of error was reasonable.


Another question - is tissue paper really necessary? It seems kind of frivolous, but am I just missing something here?!

CMGragain

Tissue paper was originally sent to keep the printing from smearing.  Modern printing does not have this problem, so the tissues are useless, and a holdover from the past.  I wouldn't use them.

Pearlescent paper and metallic paper usually does not print well.  The ink will not be absorbed into the paper, but just sits on top and smears.  I think you will need to address these envelopes the old fashioned way - by hand.  You will need to experiment with pens until you find one that will write on this paper.  You could do pencil first and then go over it with ink.

You do realize that square envelopes cost more to mail?

KGold80

@CMGragain - I'm just printing onto the envelope lightly so I can then go over it by hand with a calligraphy pen. I have decent handwriting, but it is rarely ever straight and I don't want the envelopes to look ridiculous. The envelope I tried to use earlier that didn't feed properly actually has some printing on it from my laser printer. I just rubbed it again with my finger in a deliberate attempt to smear it and it stayed put. I also made marks on it with a regular roller ball pen and a Sharpie. Neither mark smears! Hopefully the ink from a calligraphy pen won't smear either. The envelope isn't square...it's 5.25 x 7.25.

CMGragain

Glad to hear it!  I had trouble with some special paper in my printer.

theartistformerlyknownas

If you can't get them to work running through your printer, you may be able to print the addresses on a sheet of paper, cut it to fit inside your envelope, and see the print through to trace over it (assuming your envelopes aren't a dark color). It helps to see through them better if you have a glass tabletop you can put a light under.

jessica71783

Depending on how your printer works it might be feeding the envelopes sideways? maybe change it to fee them so the seal part goes in first and doesn't get jammed?

jhawkins313

I think June 6 RSVP is OK, I wish I could ask for them earlier - I am like you, I just want to get it done. I don't think it is unreasonable timing at all in your case. 

Side note: I am scared to death of trying to print anything myself. Can you put card stock in a printer? 

Sorry I was off topic and offered zero printing advice.  

KGold80

I couldn't get the envelopes to print reliably, especially given that some of the names are really long, so I ended up just carefully handwriting them with a calligraphy pen. I think they turned out okay.

You can put cardstock in some printers, but some can't really handle it - depends on the printer.